TSA to Raise Fees for Security Screenings at Airports

The little good will the TSA has earned this year with the expansion of PreCheck is be whittled away by this fee — especially once the airlines start using this to distract from their own new fees.

— Jason Clampet

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Airline passengers are about to pay more for security screening.

Following orders from Congress, the Transportation Security Administration is poised to raise the fee to $5.60 each way. That’s up from $2.50 each way for a nonstop flight and $5 for a trip including connections.

Trips with long stopovers — more than four hours on most domestic travel — will have bigger increases because each leg will trigger a new fee.

The proposed changes will be published Friday in the Federal Register and take effect 30 days later.

Congress approved higher TSA fees as part of a December budget deal. Despite protests against the TSA’s proposal, Congress dictated that the security fee rise to $5.60.

There is a 60-day public comment period, but it would likely take another act of Congress to change TSA’s rules.

A spokeswoman for industry trade group Airlines for America says the changes will hurt people in smaller cities who must take more one-way flights to get where they’re going.

Copyright (2014) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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